He also was the one that instigated the Clark vs. Kerry bullshit out of context statement "he's a lieutenant, and I'm a General"...as he called Clark a Lieutenant in politics and stated that Kerry was the general. Of course Dole made that statement during Iowa primary night(which wasn't reported by the press, only Clark's response) in which Clark wasn't even contesting. It was a set-up to instigate a response by Clark that was then used by the media to make Clark appear arrogant.

By the time he dug into Kerry, I already knew that dole wasn't nothing more than a GOP instigating mouthpiece bullshiter on issues of the military.

Jon Stewart was very nice, respectful to him, like they were friends. There conversation would start out normal then Dole would blurt out something that would sound like a rehersed thing he had to get in, like "glad I could help you with your ratings now that I'm here". It was like he had a list of jokes to make him seem human in his book junkets. Also he didn't walk out he was seated when they came back from the break.

10. I think it may have something to do with the fact that he's a WWII vet

Edited on Wed Apr-13-05 04:13 PM by karynnj

and that he's disabled. I really really don't get it personally. He was a mean hatchet man for most of his career. There are few reasons to thing that he is noble, moral or even a real hero. (I hate the current fiction that all soldiers are heroes or even that all injured soldiers are heroes.) I personally think that John Kerry is more of a hero, both for risking his life to save Rasmann and for when he risked the privileged future he could have to both speak out against the war and to demand better treatment of less fortunate vets. In both instances, Kerry put himself at a risk beyond what was required, to help others.

But, I think among a lot of people WWII is special and being a disabled WWII vet gives him a pass. I made a person close to me (a liberal Democrat) angry by saying that I think people should tell him that his purple heart and other awards have no value in their eyes because he clearly does not value other men's sacrifices that led to their awards. I think his comments that Kerry didn't bleed imply not only a lack of normal intelligence but a lack of basic decency. That he didn't apologize when Kerry, who he knew for years, called him is unforgivable.

Before last summer, I never would have said this. But I resent that the same people who were involved in a degree of character assassination that I haven't seen before are putting out a book on Dole and applauding him as a war hero. Their problem was that they couldn't accept that a liberal Democrat really was a genuine war hero and their candidate was not.

Jonathan Yardley, the book critic for the Washington Post (and a really good guy), wrote this review of Dole's new book.

ONE SOLDIER'S STORY

A Memoir

By Bob Dole

HarperCollins. 287 pp. $25.95

Bob Dole has spent the nearly nine years since his not entirely voluntary retirement from political office busily, even frantically, cashing in. What seemed like only minutes after his defeat by Bill Clinton in the 1996 presidential election, Dole rushed off in any direction where a dollar beckoned. He did so many commercials it was difficult to keep track: Visa, Target, Dunkin' Donuts, Pepsi, Air France and, most notoriously, Viagra. Never mind that at least some of his haul was donated to charity; the overall impression was of someone turning a public career into a springboard for private gain in ways that brought no credit to that career, or to the many Americans who placed their faith in Dole.

Now he's come forth with a book, the product of many ghostly hands. "One Soldier's Story" is an account of Dole's boyhood in Kansas during the 1920s and the Depression, his service in World War II, the terrible wounds he suffered in combat in the European war's final weeks and his long, hard, determined and courageous recovery. To say that it is a familiar story is understatement; during nearly half a century in politics, Dole and his acolytes told it over and over and over again, not so much ennobling Dole as trivializing a very human and very powerful story.

Precisely what is served by telling it once again in book form is difficult to determine. Certainly it is self-serving for Dole to thank his publisher "for recognizing that my story represents an entire generation of heroes who endured World War II, and for seeing the need to pass on a legacy to the next generation." In truth, Dole's story can be said to "represent" only the stories of soldiers who were traumatically wounded yet managed, through their own steadfastness and the selfless help of others, to achieve some measure of healing. Dole's phrasing, though, suggests that he is trying to climb aboard the highly lucrative "Greatest Generation" bandwagon, putting himself forth as its emblematic and heroic figure.

stopped the blood flow to his head. I used to think he had integrity until he slammed Kerry about his war record. You would think someone with his own war experiences would know better. I really think he went off his rocker! It might be DIMENTIA or something.........how old is he now 90???? Dimentia occurs in 50% of people over 80...

16. Jayus Christ! No wonder he's been all over DU...his PR Machine must

be in full gear...

Damn It...I think I replied to some Dole posts. He and his NC Senator, Beauty Queen (Red Cross Fraud) wife are just RAKING THE $$$$$$$$$$$"S in here.

And this is the Bob Dole involved with Riggs bank who has his "aide" go to the bank to withdraw cash...because he just doesn't like to use "credit cards."

Give me a BREAK HERE.... He and Liddy have made millions on the backs of the American People...now he needs a book deal to pay for his "erections and his wife's face lift and spiked and three colored hair do for the Repub Convention and the hereafter?

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